“A triumph of grungy lyricism…The tenor of the film oscillates between tight-fisted noir and chamber drama, but the theme is always the same: cultural and romantic unrest.”
– Ed Gonzales, Slant Magazine

“Some fine set pieces—like the disciplined Kendo fight that degenerates into sadistic anarchy—and thoughtful camera-work serve to illustrate Fuller’s gift for weaving a poetic nihilism out of his journalistic vision of urban crime.”
– Time Out London

Maverick writer-director Samuel Fuller’s The Crimson Kimono (1959) is a noir-ish tale of two Los Angeles cops (James Shigeta, Glenn Corbett) attempting to solve the murder of a stripper in Little Tokyo. But along the way, Fuller typically introduces themes of racism and sexual identity, particularly when a young woman (Victoria Shaw), a possible key witness, enters the picture, disrupting the relationship of the two police partners.